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Wharnsby: Celebrating an important world championship victory

Tim Wharnsby, Globe and Mail, February 7, 2008

Next month, 13 of the 14 living members of the 1957-58 Whitby Dunlops will assemble in Whitby to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their important world championship victory.

“It will be 50 years to the day on Mar. 9,” said the legendary former Boston Bruins coach and general manager Harry Sinden, who will attend the festivities. “It will be the last time we’ll get together as a group and I wouldn’t miss it.”

Sinden, now 75, was the captain of the Dunlops. He took time out recently from his Florida home to reminisce about Whitby’s golden moment in Oslo, Norway. Sinden said that the Dunlops victory was a big deal 50 years ago.

“We were under a lot of pressure to win and it was big news when we won,” Sinden said. “First, Canada lost to the Russians in the final of the 1956 Olympics [in Cortina, Italy] for the first time and in 1954 [Toronto’s] Lyndhurst Motors were beaten by Russia at the world championship.”

Sinden also added that the 1957 world championship was boycotted by Canada and the United States because of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Hungray. The Dunlops represented Canada because they won the 1957 Allan Cup.

“It was a real shock when the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen lost at the Olympics,” Sinden recalled. “But we knew what to expect from the Russians before we went over because we played them in an exhibition game in Dec. 1957 at Maple Leaf Gardens. The Gardens was packed and we beat them. I think that game garnered interest in the world championship a few months later.”

Sinden remembered that the Dunlops boarded the Queen Elizabeth I and endured a rough six-day voyage across the Atlantic Ocean before arriving in Europe for three weeks of exhibition games prior to the Olympics.

“I hated it, the Ocean was so rough because it was still winter,” Sinden said. “It was a terrible thing. But our general manager, Wren Blair, wouldn’t fly. We were all sick by the time we arrived in Europe.”

The Olympic tournament was played on an outdoor rink in Oslo. Both Canada and Russian went undefeated to meet in the gold-medal final. Canada claimed gold with a 4-2 victory over Russia after the game was tied 2-2 following 40 minutes. Bob Attersley scored the game-winning goal midway through the third period.

“It was a team full of characters,” said Sinden, who was raised in Weston, Ont. and played junior for the Oshawa Generals. “But we could play.”

Sinden added that when the Dunlops returned Connie Broden joined the Montreal Canadiens and won the 1958 Stanley Cup, while Charlie Burns wound up playing for the Detroit Red Wings the following season.

Here is a list of the players who suited up for the Dunlops in 1957-58: Sandy Air, Bob Attersley, Frank Bonnello, Charlie Burns, Connie Broden, Roy Edwards, Fred Etcher, Bill Flick, Ron Casey, Charles Gagnon, John Henderson, Wally Maxwell, Don McBeth, Jack McKenize, Gord Myles, Ted O’Connor, Tom O’Connor, Edward Redmond, Mickey Roth, George Samolenko, Harry Sinden, Sid Smith (player-coach), Alf Treen and Doug Williams.

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